We never refrigerated dove or any bird more than a couple days under the best of circumstances. If hunting on a warm day without cleaning and icing your birds quickly I would freeze them if you're not making a meal of 'em right away. Enjoy!

 

Couple of days at most,but mine never make it past the first because I have already ate them.

 

Many years ago, when I was lucky enough to get a limit of doves, I cleaned the breasts, put several in a cleaned milk carton and filled it with water. Then into the freezer it went. Months later, I thawed the carton and the meat was fine.

Any more, I can't find enough of the flyty rascals to save past an evening meal!

 

Shot a bunch Sunday afternoon one time, put them on water in the fridge and they were there for a week and a day before we cooked and ate them. They were perfectly fine.

My opinion, people are FAR too quick to call food unsafe. Your nose is great tool, if it smells bad, don't eat it. Otherwise, its fine.

I don't think time is a good barometer. It depends on a ton of variables not many of which are easily measured.

 

I normally age my birds in the fridge before eating them. A dove I would give a couple of days max before cooking it. A grouse I may give three days and a duck about five days.